On June 7th, Muslims in Nigeria destroyed the Catholic Cathedral of St. Patrick in the northern capital city of Maiduguri. Recently, as many as 16 Nigerians have died in the most recent daily attacks. Furthermore, estimates are that nearly 500 people have been killed since the April election of that countries first Christian president. There have been other churches bombed, and an estimated 40,000 people have fled from the northern, mostly Muslim north. The Islamic group claiming responsibility have even killed an Islamic leader who opposed the ongoing attacks.

I know I repeat myself, but we need to educate ourselves. Christians are the most persecuted group on earth. That’s not just a saying, it is a statistic and a fact. According to the Zenitarticle below, a Christian is killed every five minutes in the world, not accidentally, but solely because he or she is a Christian. And those numbers are in large part children. This ongoing persecution is happening in Egypt, Pakistan, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria…and on and on. With the exception of Communist countries China and North Korea, the rest of the top 10 most dangerous countries for Christians are Muslim.

The sociologist in the article below comes very close to speaking the plain truth at a conference on Christian-Jewish-Muslim interfaith dialogue, he tells the participants that unless something is done about the approximately 100,000 Christians killed every year, “interfaith dialogue” is meaningless. To that I say, “Amen.”

ROME, JUNE 3, 2011 (Zenit.org).- A sociologist representing a European security organization says that the number of Christians killed each year for their faith is so high that it calculates to one martyr’s life being taken every five minutes.

Massimo Introvigne of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported this data at a conference on Christian-Jewish-Muslim interfaith dialogue, which concluded today in Hungary. The conference was sponsored by the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, and included a variety of high-level representatives from the three monotheistic religions, as well as political and social leaders.

Introvigne reported that Christians killed every year for their faith number 105,000, and that number includes only those put to death simply because they are Christians. It does not count the victims of civil or international wars.

“If these numbers are not cried out to the world, if this slaughter is not stopped, if it is not acknowledged that the persecution of Christians is the first worldwide emergency in the matter of violence and religious discrimination, the dialogue between religions will only produce beautiful conferences but no concrete results,” he stated.

Egyptian diplomat Aly Mahmoud said that in his country laws have been passed that will protect Christian minorities, for example, prosecuting those who give speeches that incite hatred and banning hostile crowds outside churches.

“However, the danger is that many Christian communities in the Middle East will die from emigration, because all Christians, feeling threatened, will flee,” he said.

The diplomat suggested Europe prepare for “a new wave of emigration, this time from Christians fleeing the persecutions.”

For his part, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, chairman for the Russian Orthodox patriarchate’s Department of External Church Relations, reminded that “at least 1 million” Christian victims of persecutions are children.

Maybe you already saw this article linked over at The Drudge Report. I am posting it here because of my own personal experience. You see, I wish that when I was mired in sin and depressed and hopeless, some good Christian doctor had just said, “Get thee to a rectory! find a priest and dig yourself out of this dung heap of sin!”

Well, I eventually found that curative on my own, without the help of the medical community. Still it is good to know that there are medical professionals that understand that God made us to be corporeal and spiritual, and the one affects the other. In England, a young man described as being “in a rut and in need of help” was lucky enough to find a doctor who was willing to see him as the whole person that God made him. After a lengthy consultation the doctor suggested that the young man return to the practice of his faith from youth. Fox News NY reports:

Richard Scott, a doctor for 28 years, is under investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) and faces disciplinary action after he suggested to a 24-year-old man that he might find solace in Christianity.

Scott, who practices at a medical center in Margate, east of London, well known for having Christian doctors, insists he only raised his spiritual beliefs after carrying out a thorough and lengthy consultation, during which medical checks and referrals for further care were arranged.

When the man’s mother inquired of the consultation, however, her son apparently replied, “He just said I need Jesus.” This prompted his mother to refer Scott to the GMC, claiming that he had not offered medical advice during the consultation but instead talked about Jesus.

…He has continued to seek treatment from the practice despite the complaint filed by his mother.

The doctor, who has an unblemished record “has decided to fight the allegations and stand up to what he believes is a politically correct trend in Britain to persecute Christians for expressing their faith in the workplace.”

Scott fears that if he accepts the warning, and discusses his Christian beliefs with other patients, he could be struck off.

He maintains he acted professionally and says the complaint was made against him in the knowledge that professional bodies are nervous about claims of a religious nature.

Scott said, “I only discussed my faith at the end of a lengthy medical consultation after exploring the various interventions that the patient had previously tried, and after promising to follow up the patient’s request for an appointment with other medical professionals.

“I only discussed mutual faith after obtaining the patient’s permission. In our conversation, I said that, personally, I had found having faith in Jesus helped me and could help the patient. At no time did the patient indicate that they were offended, or that they wanted to stop the discussion. If that had been the case, I would have immediately ended the conversation.

“This complaint was brought to the GMC not by the patient, who has continued to be a patient in this practice, but by the patient’s mother.”

Scott is a partner at the Bethesda medical center in Margate, Kent. The six partners at the practice are all Christians and it has taken a biblical name. Practice leaflets and message boards publicize the doctors’ religion and invite patients to raise Christian beliefs with them.

Scott is being advised by the Christian Legal Center. Paul Diamond, the leading human rights barrister, has been instructed in the case.

Did you catch that? The practice is made up of Christian practitioners. Their leaflets and boards publicize their Christian beliefs and the nature of their practice. So my question is, did this mother take her son there knowing full well the nature of their practice? Was this some sort of set up? We know from experience that atheists and humanists are not content to simply keep religion out of government. They want it out of everyone’s lives and will not be happy until this is achieved. Their number one target, in fact their only target, is Christianity.

Pray for this doctor and his legal defense team. May we never be silent in proclaiming the truth. And for what it’s worth, I think the doctor is probably spot on. We all can think of examples where getting right by God ‘cured’ someone of pain, despair, depression, anxiety or other so-called mental illnesses.

As of two days ago, the former president, Laurent Gbagbo is reportedly still alive and under house arrest. The country has just resumed cocoa bean production and export, but situation in the Ivory Coast is far from better.

New graves are discovered weekly and 30,000 displaced persons are still living in the mission outside of Duekoue, which I mentioned in the Original Post. If you remember from the OP, that was a little mission, hardly equipped to handle that number of refugees. When encouraged to go home, the refugees express fear that the attackers will return and kill them, so they remain on the grounds of the mission, the Salesian parish of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus.

But many doubt reconciliation can be achieved and entire villages in the west, close to the border with Liberia, remain devastated by abuses from both sides.

A UN human rights team has begun probing killings in Abidjan’s Yopougon district after UN workers on Friday found 68 bodies in 10 graves.

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said meanwhile he intends to investigate massacres by both sides in a conflict which raised fears of a Rwanda-style genocide.

Nearly 30,000 displaced people are sheltering in a Catholic mission at Duekoue in the west while more than 100,000 have taken refuge in neighbouring Liberia.

“They told us to go back to our homes but those who killed our brothers — are they not going to come back?” said one frightened resident at the mission.

The Salesians have set up an emergency appeal, mostly aimed at humanitarian relief agencies. However, perhaps you can help as well. Donate here. (the site is in Spanish)

And as always, our number one obligation as Christians is to lift up our prayers to Almighty God, who is our help and our shield.

It is estimated that the United Nations mission in the Congo is the largest and most expensive peacekeeping mission in the world. The United Nations has 20,000 troops there. 20,000. The UN has been on the ground there providing peacekeepers since 1999. And what have all the billions of dollars, military manhours and brute strength achieved in Congo?

Peace?

Prosperity?

Stability?

Er…no. What it accomplished is a new title. Congo is now — according to the UN — “the rape capital of the world.” Yes, that’s right. In the Congo, where we have a gigantic UN peacekeeping force, 48 women are raped EVERY HOUR. That’s some peacekeeping going on right there. Way to protect the women and children, United Nations!

I guess it’s the best we can expect from our earthly princes over at our savior body, the United Nations. At least the news reports of rapes and pedophilia by the UN’s very own troops it has had in the Congo for last decades have slacked off. Or is it that the major media just isn’t reporting on these atrocities? After all, the Food-for-Oil and rape scandals of the past barely made page 3 of the New York Times. And although it wasNational Public Radiothat reported this shocking news of the rape statistics in Congo, NPR did not even mention the presence of UN forces, nor their complicity in the ongoing rape of that country’s women and children. Not one mention of the multitude of accusations there.

So you may well ask, because no one has really told you, what atrocities? Well, to date UN troops have been accused of widespread rape, child sexual abuse, child trafficking, and pornography, in some cases systemic, in Congo, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Sudan….basically everywhere there are UN troops stationed, there are reports of raping and sexual abuse of children. And there are over 200,000 UN troops currently stationed around the world.

The 34-page report, which was obtained by The Washington Post, accuses U.N. peacekeepers from Morocco, Pakistan and Nepal of seeking to obstruct U.N. efforts to investigate a sexual abuse scandal that has damaged the United Nations’ standing in Congo.

The report documents 68 cases of alleged rape, prostitution and pedophilia by U.N. peacekeepers from Pakistan, Uruguay, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa and Nepal. U.N. officials say they have uncovered more than 150 allegations of sexual misconduct throughout the country as part of a widening investigation into sexual abuse by U.N. personnel that has plagued the United Nations’ largest peacekeeping mission, U.N. officials said.

“Sexual exploitation and abuse, particularly prostitution of minors, is widespread and long-standing,” says a draft of the internal July report, which has not previously been made public. “Moreover, all of the major contingents appear to be implicated.” (emphasis mine)

Apparently, troops from countries like Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia, Sri Lanka and Nepal (who were accused of raping a 10 year old girl inside a United Nations armored vehicle) did not receive the memo about the United Nations being the savior of the world, yada yada. About how the new world order will lift up all mankind because mankind will save itself via well, the new world order. And these troops are not remembering to act like saviors of mankind. Apparently, they still act like conquerers, barbarians and such.

It was with disappointment that the UN spokesperson dealt with reports surfacing in Haiti as far back as 2006. They thought things were going so well there! As the Washington Times writes,

Reports that peacekeepers raped teenage girls have surfaced in Haiti, where a United Nations mission so far had avoided the sexual abuse scandals that have sullied the international organization’s reputation in other parts of the world.

Has it truly “sullied” the UN’s reputation? Has anyone truly questioned why this enormous body of mostly barbarian third world countries is given a blank check to send poorly disciplined, undereducated, racist troops into helpless, struggling countries with little or no oversight?

According to Wikipedia, the bulk of troops come from poor third world (sorry, I mean “developing”) countries because “peacekeeping” brings in alot of money for them. Less that 4.5% of UN troops are from the EU and less than 1% from the US. Here is the breakdown, according to Wikipedia:

Despite the large number of contributors, the greatest burden continues to be borne by a core group of developing countries, who often profit financially from their participation in such missions.[citation needed] The 10 main troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations as of September 2010 were Bangladesh (10,736), Pakistan (10,691), India (8,935), Nigeria (5,709), Egypt (5,458), Nepal (5,044), Jordan (3,826), Ghana (3,647), Rwanda (3,635), Uruguay (2,489).

It doesn’t take a world geography major to see that these countries are known by and large for their despotic rulers and human rights abuses.

The UN has been in Congo since 1999. The conflict is still ongoing there. As far back as 2004, the UN’s own confidential report stated that sexual exploitation by U.N. personnel in Congo “appears to be significant, wide spread and ongoing.” Citation. Eight years later, we have a hell on earth for woman and children, a place where 1,152 women are raped EVERY DAY in what is generally thought to be an under-reported crime.

So who is going to save these people, if the United Nations can’t do it? The psalmist knows.

Hallelujah! Praise the LORD, my soul; I shall praise the LORD all my life, sing praise to my God while I live.I Put no trust in princes, in mere mortals powerless to save. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth; that day all their planning comes to nothing.Happy those whose help is Jacob’s God, whose hope is in the LORD, their God, The maker of heaven and earth, the seas and all that is in them, Who keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free; the LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.The LORD protects the stranger, sustains the orphan and the widow, but thwarts the way of the wicked.The LORD shall reign forever, your God, Zion, through all generations!Hallelujah!

Pray to the Lord our God for the safety and peace of the peoples of the earth. Pray for the weak and helpless, the women and the children who are most vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

Back by popular demand, Cory Heimann‘s This Easter video, featuring the music of Catholic artist Rich Dittus. Cory is the fabulously talented young Catholic designer and videographer. Support his work!

Over at Catholic Answers, I came across this this link on a forum posting. The minister at a very large Methodist Church in Texas has a series of sermons about different Christian faith traditions, in very charitable and ecumenical presentations.

The series started with his appreciation of Roman Catholicism. I listened to it and was very moved. Not only would Protestants brothers and sisters benefit from it, but we Catholics as well. Overall, the pastor gave a very fair presentation. (A couple of his historical dates seem influenced by his Protestant background, e.g. the date of the establishment of Roman papal authority.) But his historical overview is generally acceptable. It’s what he has to say about the things he appreciates in Catholics where this sermon gets going, and surprising. I’ve never known any Protestant to admire our Purgatory beliefs, for instance. What else does our Methodist brother appreciate? Not surprising: our commitment to life issues, our steadfastness against cultural attacks, and our work with the poor. Oh, and of course, Authority. Surprising: Sacramentals, liturgy, reverent ritualized prayer, candles, and the Sign of the Cross. He even tackles the sex abuse scandal.

I got a bit choked up listening to it.

Here is the minister, Dr. Ed Robb, preaching on “Why I appreciate the Roman Catholics“. (there is a video option as well). Take time to listen to it; it just may make you appreciate your faith more.

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Opera Christi non deficiunt, sed proficiunt

"The work of Christ never recedes, but progresses"

The Little Way:

"Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love." -- St. Terese of Lisieux

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Holy Family with Ss. Michael, Francis and John the Baptist (unseen)

Prayer to St. Michael Archangel

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

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Sharing in the Commission

[L]ay Christians...have the right and duty, individually or grouped in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men throughout the earth. -- Catechism of the Catholic Church

Scattering flowers

“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”–St. Jerome (quoted in the Catechism)

This is the book of the commandments of God, and the law that is for ever. All that keep it shall come to life: but they that have forsaken it, to death. --Baruch 4:1

Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." --John 6:68

God has entrusted to us the news of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:19-20

So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life. --Philippians 2:12-16

'Be still and know that I am God!" --Psalms 46:11

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God…I do not say this in condemnation, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, that we may die together and live together. I have great confidence in you, I have great pride in you; I am filled with encouragement, I am overflowing with joy all the more because of all our affliction.--2 Corinthians 7: 1, 3-4

The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still. --Exodus 14:14

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you
who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of
gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be
tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill
the law of Christ. -- Galatians 6:1-2

You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons: "My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges."
Endure your trials as "discipline"; God treats you as sons. For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline? -- Hebrews 12:5-7

Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame -- 1 Peter 3:15-16

Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you! -- Mark 10:49

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil. - Matt 6:33-34

One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell in the LORD'S house all the days of my life, To gaze on the LORD'S beauty, to visit his temple.--Psalms 27:4